1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a device for improving the sensitivity for elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence using energy dispersive detectors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, a variety of methods have been used to excite a sample to be analyzed by X-ray fluorescence. The most practical method has been with the use of nearly monochromatic photon sources as described by J. A. Cooper in "Comparison of Particle and Photon Excited X-Ray Fluorescence Applied to Trace Element Measurements of Environmental Samples," Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington, Report BNWL-SA-4304, Aug. 31, 1972, see also Nuclear Instruments and Method, 1973 Vol. 106, pg. 525. The use of a specially designed X-ray tube, as described by J. M. Jaklevic, R. D. Giauque, D. F. Malone, and W. L. Searles in "Small X-Ray Tubes for Energy Dispersive Analysis Using Semiconductor Spectrometers," Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory LBL-10 preprint, July 1971, provides the safest, most intense and most convenient source of photons for excitation. Unfortunately the Compton and coherent scattering peaks dominate the spectrum and contribute substantially to the background and detector dead time.